Cable terminal



Oct. 27, 1953 J. M. HOBSON 2,657,370

CABLE TERMINAL Filed June 6, 1950 3 I 11%NTOR.

Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CABLE TERMINAL J Wi son M. Hobson, Garden Grove, Calif. Application June 6, 1950, Serial No. 166,355

This invention relates to devices for connecting electric cables to electro-conductive rigid members, and pertains more specifically to devices for connecting cables to electric battery posts.

It is an object of this invention to provide a cable-terminal which will hold the wires of a cable in a firm electro-conductive grip without the use of solder and which thereby may be removed from a broken cable and placed on .a new or shortened cable without injury or difficulty.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cable terminal which may be secured to a battery post so as to be easily detachable therefrom,

the post-grippingmechanism being adapted to release the post immediately when released from pressure, and the pressure-applying mechanism operating at sufiicient distance from the post to be relatively insusceptibleto electrolytic action.

Still another object of the invention is to pro- Y vide a cableterminal of simple and rugged construction, having few parts and low cost of manufacture. l

' A more detailed object is to provide a cable terminal in which a gib or plug, placed under pressure, grips and makes electric contactwith the cable wires and the battery post, and when released from pressure releases both the wires and the post.

Other objects and useful advantages of themvention will be pointed out as the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention proceeds, or will be apparent from that description considered with the accompanying drawing, in which:

plane of section indicated by the line 22 of Fig.1;and

Fig. 3'is a'perspectiveview of the aforesaid gib.

3 Claims. 339-4202) Having reference now .to the details-of the I drawing, I have shown a conventional battery 5,' having a battery post 6 to which a cable 1 is to" be connected. The-cableterminal body; general ly indicated at 8, comprises a ,ringmember or collar. 9 with a central opening it of slightly greater diameter than the post 6, permitting the collar to loosely encompass the post and to be easily placed thereon-and removed therefrom. A shank I I extends from one side of the collar 9 and base longitudinal bore l2 opening through the wall of the collar into the opening. l0 and provided with threads l3 at its outer end.

A threaded sleeve [5 is adapted to be screwed into the bore I2, engaging the threads l3 and has an unthreaded end portion I6 slidable in the unthreaded portion ll of the bore [2. The sleeve may have an angulated head l8 for receiving a wrench, or other suitable means for rotating it.

The bore [9 of the sleeve I5 is adapted to receive the bare wires of the cable! from which the customary insulation has been stripped. At the inner end of the sleeve 15, the bore I9 is preferably fiared outwardly to form a conical recess 2 5-. A plug or gib 23 is mounted slidingly in the bore l2, and has a conical end 24 sloped to be substantially symmetrical with the chamfer of the recess 2!. The other end of the gib 23 preferably has a transverse shallow groove 25 conforming in curvature to the periphery of the post 6. r V The method of connecting acable 1 toa battery post 5 by meansof my improved cable'ter'mi nal 8, will be obvious from consideration of Fig.2. The stripped wires Ml are inserted through the sleeve l5 until their ends protrude through and beyond the conical recess 2|. The collar 9 is placed over the post 6, with the gib 23 floating in the bore l2 and oriented so that the shallow groove 25' is adjacent to the post 6 and axially aligned with the axis of the post. The sleeve I 5 is inserted in the bore l2 and screwed therein to force the ends of the Wires 20 against the conical point 2d of the gib 23. The pressure thus exerted on the gib 23 clampsthe post 6 between the gib and the opposite wall of the opening it, and spreads the wires so that they are clamped between the point 24 and the chamfered wall of the recess 2|. A firm electrical and mechanical contact is thus established between the wires 29 and the post 6 through the medium of the gib 23 which is under pressure at both ends.

To detach the terminal 8 from the post, the... sleeve l5 is threadedly retracted in the threads l3 to relieve, pressureupon the gib 23. As, unl ike..-. the bolt threads in the ordinary split-collar type of terminal, the threads l3 aresealed within the bore l2 by the pressure of the'wire ends against;

the wall of the bore and the only exposed portion of the threads is at a relatively great'distance;

from the post, the threads arenot likely to be frozen by electrolytic action or by productsof; corrosion, and the sleeve [5 may be easily re tracted. The gib 23 may then be easily knocked.

. eration. While I have shown the bore l2 as be.

ing radial to the opening Ill and the gib 23 there.

fore applying radial pressure to the post I, it should be understood that this construction is preferred only for the purpose of facilitating separation of the terminal from the post, and that the gib may also press obliquely on the post where an extremely tight or permanent connection is desired.

It will now be apparent that since the gib 23 makes a positive electrical connection between the wires 'ipandthe 'post 6, another parts of the terminal B'ni'ay'be made of'non-corro'ding, non-conductive material. The collar 9, with its laterally extending shank H, and the sleeve [5, may be formed of plastic material, thereby'iiot only reducing electrolysis and corrosion but reducing the danger of accidental"short cii'cuitiiig and sparking at the terminal.

A further advantage of a plastic sleeve is that it will ordinarily be soft relatively to the "wires of the cable and therefore may score slightly and help twist thewires uponthegib. fTh'e gibobviously'inustbe of aoonductive metal, and hard enough to "maintain apoint which will penetrate the "brindle" of wires-and spread the wires npon its surface.

If itisdesirdto'remove the'sleeve l'5'from one cable 1 -a-n'd' to install it on anotheror up'o'n freshly" stripped wires of the cab'le u on amen it has -be'en, "the wire "ends may be easily straightened "wl'i'enthe" sleeve has been removed from the bore 12.

As my invention is sdbject' to' some modification by "tho'se 'skille'd inthe'art without departure fromits proper spirit, rwi'sh'to have the scope of the invention=considered not as limited i to thevparticular" embodiment" herein described and illustrated, -but rather *as' coextensive with 'the appended claims.

I-"claim:

1. In an electrical cable terminal: a collar having a wall adapted to loosely encompass a terminal post; a lateral extension on said collar having a bore opening through said wall; a sleeve mounted in said bore and having a conically flaring inner end; threaded means interacting between said extension and said sleeve for advancing said sleeve rotatively towards said collar; and a gib carried slidably within said bore beyond said sleeve so asto extend through said wall to engagesaid post, and having a conical end adapted to wedge the ends of wires threaded through said sleeve against the conical end of said sleeve, said :"gio having a surface arranged to interlock with said post to prevent rotation of said gib when saidgibi's pressed against said post.

2. 1n an'electrical cable terminal: the construction set forth inclaim 1, in which the end of said gib en'g'ageable with said post has a transverse shallow groove conforming to the periphery of said post.

3. In an electrical cable terminal: the construc tion"set'forth'in'claim 1, in which said gib is electro-conductive;and saidcollar, said extension, andsaid sleeve are non-conductive, 'said sleeve being of material softer than said gib.

JtJfisoN M. HOBSON.

"ReferencesCitedin'the file of this'patent 

